Equinix predicts that global bandwidth use on private data centre links between companies will soon outstrip bandwidth on the public internet, both in terms of growth and IP traffic.

The U.S.-based global data centre colocation and interconnection provider has released its Global Interconnection Index report, which measures the growth of the digital economy and has found that increasingly digital business models are changing the way in which traffic moves.

The report predicts that by 2020 interconnection bandwidth, used to conduct scalable digital business, will grow to more than 5000 terabytes per second (Tbps).

Its findings state that interconnection bandwidth is growing twice as fast as global IP traffic, which by 2020, will make it six times larger. It is also outstripping the traditional model of business connectivity, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) by a factor of ten to one.

The mooted figure of 5000 Tbps is put into perspective in the report, where it is noted that with such a high level of interconnection $1.6 billion of electronic payments could be processed per hour, or the entire contents of the U.S. Library of Congress could be transferred three times in one second.

This level of interconnectivity is required, the report states, because of the changing way that businesses operate. Equinix chief marketing officer, Sara Baack, said: ‘Some of the greatest technology trends of our lifetime, including mobile, social, cloud and the explosion of data, are creating disruption on the scale of the Industrial Revolution. In this new reality, it’s a ‘scale-or-fail’ proposition and companies are succeeding by adopting Interconnection.’

In reference to the ‘scale-or-fail’ nature of interconnection, the report pushes the potential that comes with its use, arguing that grand business ambitions may be achieved through its use, but without it, businesses are likely to fall behind.

Equinix argues that a number of factors have pushed this move towards interconnection and away from public internet usage. Primarily, it notes that an increasing number of companies require real-time digital interaction with their customers. It also looks at urbanisation and the risk of cybersecurity breaches.

Globally, the U.S. is predicted to achieve the highest level of Tbps by 2020, followed by Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. However, it is predicted that London will continue to have the highest usage of any city worldwide.